Hymnal: The Christian Hymnal Revised
Date: 1882
Compiler: A I Hobbs et al
Publisher/Printer: Christian Publishing Co
First Line: On what are you building brother
Topic: Christ/Rock
Writer: H Trickett
Composer: J Rosecrans
Meter: 9s 8 and 12
Tune: The Rock and the Sand
Hymn Number: 739
Page Number: 287, click to see hymnal pages
LyicsON what are you building, my brother,
Your hopes of an eternal home?
Is it loose, shifting sand, or the firm, solid rock,
You are trusting for ages to come?--CHO.
Chorus.--Hearing and doing, we build on the Rock;
Hearing alone, we build on the sand;
Both will be tried by the storm and the flood;
Only the rock the trial will stand.
On one or the other, my brother,
You are building your hopes day by day;
You are risking your soul on the works that you do;
Will the dark waters sweep you away?--CHO.
Your Saviour has warn'd you, my brother;
I pray you give heed to His voice:
There is life on the rock, but there's death on the sand;
O my brother, pray tell me your choice.--CHO.
No matter how careful, my brother,
The sand for your house you prepare.
'Twill be all swept away when the floods shall descend,
Leaving nothing but death and despair.--CHO.